Graduate student Michael Schoof and his team at University of California in San Francisco have been thinking laterally. If the SARS-Cov-2 virus causing COVID-19 lurks in the upper nasal passages, they reason why don’t we zap it there? Moreover, UC San Francisco plans to AeroNab the virus just as soon as they have finished trials.
Inhaled Protection Behind UC San Francisco Plans to AeroNab Virus
The university media release says Michael Schoof’s team “engineered a completely synthetic, production-ready molecule”. And it adds it “straitjackets the crucial SARS-CoV-2 machinery that allows the virus to infect our cells”. Therefore, these UC San Francisco plans to AeroNab the virus certainly make sense to us!
After the research team placed an aerosol version in a nasal spray, they discovered how potent their molecule was. In fact, to quote the university media release it is “among the most potent SARS-CoV-2 antivirals yet discovered”. Moreover, they believe a single daily administration could outwit the virus pending the development of a vaccine.
Could Clinical Trials Lead to an Inexpensive Medical Stop Gap Soon?
The research team is confident the possibilities are there. That’s sufficiently confident to negotiate a manufacturing agreement before trialing and clinical approval. We should not be surprised to hear talk on campus of an inexpensive, over-the-counter medication. That’s a regular medicine able to prevent and treat COVID-19.
Peter Walter is professor of biochemistry and biophysics at University of California in San Francisco, and co-invented the antiviral molecule. He believes their radical invention will be “far more effective than wearable forms of personal protective equipment”.
He reports the tiny nano-molecules are exceptionally stable, and, we quote “they may help reshape the course of the pandemic worldwide”. Therefore, this UC San Francisco plan to AeroNab the virus sounds like one for the record books to us!
Related
U.S. Clinical Trials of Monoclonal Antibodies
Virally Vectored DNA versus mRNA Vaccines
Preview Image: The AeroNabs Nasal Spray
